Smart Energy Plan

July 01, 2025

Stronger, Smarter Infrastructure to Support Hospital Reliability

Ameren Missouri is working to support reliability for two of the region’s largest hospitals, Mercy St. Louis and Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

A reliable electricity supply is crucial for hospitals. They need uninterrupted power to operate life-saving equipment, maintain sterile environments, and provide emergency care. A momentary outage can mean the difference between stability and crisis. Thanks to the Smart Energy Plan, Ameren Missouri is working to support reliability for two of the region’s largest hospitals, Mercy St. Louis and Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

Ameren Missouri is upgrading power lines near both facilities to better withstand storms and avoid outages. These upgrades will benefit not just the hospitals, but other critical services in the area such as police stations, schools, and transit centers. In all, more than 2,500 customers are being supported by these improvements.

As part of this upgrade, crews are removing wood poles that are past their intended useful life and rebuilding with new wooden poles and composite poles. “Composite poles are about twice as strong as wooden ones, and we use them strategically to help prevent cascading damage along power lines,” said Matt Tosh, Director of Dorsett and St. Charles Operating Centers for Ameren Missouri. “The ability of these poles to prevent larger outages can be a big difference-maker during severe weather.”

More than a dozen composite poles are being added to the rebuilt line, along New Ballas Road between Interstate 64 and Ladue Road. Ameren Missouri has storm-hardened more than 250 miles of power lines since the start of the Smart Energy Plan, significantly reducing outages along these hardened lines.

The project also includes the addition of distribution automation, known as smart switches. These devices can automatically detect outages and quickly reroute power from another source. This means outages that may have previously lasted hours or days are now restored in minutes, even seconds. Since 2021, smart switches have helped more than 315,000 customers avoid outages during major storms.

The rebuilt line and upgraded equipment are expected to be placed into service by the end of 2025. To learn more about Smart Energy Plan upgrades in your area, visit AmerenMissouri.com/SmartEnergyPlan.